As already posted as a quote this longer essay is challeging the solution to The Murder of Roger Ackroyd. In total there are 16 chapters, out of which only 3-4 are interesting. Most of them are highly theoretical, e.g. using Freud‘s theories, but not always putting them into context. I liked the chapters in which Ackroyd was compared to other novels (but giving away a lot of spoilers) and of the ones in which other suspects were discussed.

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Starting a new background check on The Murder of Roger Ackroyd… 💪💪💪

Childress definitely has some interesting insights, e.g. starting off with the water-sewage systems or metallurgy of ancient cultures. Then you keep on wondering if they had those advanced technologies, why not other ones like flying or computers as well. Of course there are a lot of artefacts worldwide that cannot be explained by now, but I am not sure if the lost culture of Atlantis can be the master key for everything because then you can‘t…

Nancy looks a little stoned on the cover of my ebook, but maybe this is how she looked after she inhaled the sleeping fu es? 🤔🤔🤔 The second time in a row I like the story because it made sense most of the times. The notion of hidden pirate ship with a tolling bell made it interesting. Unfortunately for me, the story took a different turn, I liked it anyway. 😊

Once in a while I am in time with my Nancy Drew reading. 🤪🙈🤪

I‘ve read Baudolino a few years ago when I was younger. It was nice to listen to it again. It is still not an easy read/listening, but it was nice to hear the exploits of the notorious liar Baudolino again. And this way you get a funnier view of the story of Frederick Barbarossa (who is supposed to be sleeping at the Kyffhäuser in my home region) and the crusades.

And again, doing some background reading on the current Poirot murder mystery. I would have liked any of the displayed covers compared to the one my ebook did. 🙄

I don‘t get the covers of these cheap ebooks. Somehow I imagined Fernkurs Park to be more opulent, but perhaps I am wrong. It is funny to follow Poirot trying to be an average citizen cultivating pumpkins. For sure he wouldn‘t last long and a murder case would sneak back into his life and Poirot is taking it gratefully. And The Murder of Roger Ackroyd is definitely a good case for a come back.

„There‘s no doubt at all about what the man‘s profession has been. He‘s a retired hairdresser. Look at that moustache of his.“ 🤣🤣🤣 Imagine Poirot being a hairdresser. 🤣🤣🤣

Another case that the Homes brothers are not able to solve and only Enola‘s female insights and her wit make sure there is at least one happy ending. And finally even Mycroft is able to accept her as an equal. Again, the Enola Holmes story are definitely a nice pasttime.

Keeping up with the further reading - I am behind anyway 🙈🙈🙈 - before starting the next Poirot in line. Both books narrate Poirot‘s life as displayed throught the different novels and give background infos on how the novels were written and published.

A new case for Enola. This time a cold case with international entanglements lashes back at Enolas unknowing landlady and she has to rescue her. Along we ger to know Florence Nightingale who gives Sherlock a nice telling-off. 🫶🫶🫶

Just when I was on the verge of quitting the series, no. 22 ends up being one of the best Nancy Drew stories so far. It is only one story that actually makes sense instead of two far-fetched narratives that are weirdly linked to each other.

It‘s not a Nancy Drew story, if there isn‘t a good kidnapping!!! 🤣🤣🤣

Enola has to save her friend Lady Cecily a second time - this time from her own family and societal pressures. With some help of Sherlock she is able to do that in her particularly special fashion and approach. The books are definitely an easy and funny read.

My Icelandic library is geowing bit by bit. And this non-fiction book is definitely worth to be added to it. This was a fun read about important historical moments in time in which Iceland actually - and unknown to most - did play a role in word politics. I was laughing out loud a lot.

… but the most popular „facts“ (about Iceland) came back like zombies: two books (…) claim, respectively, that ICELANDERS LIVE UP TO 150 TO 300 YEARS - because pure climate, of course. Which I‘d say is fair reasoning: THE HUMAN BODY IS ORGANIC, AND WE ALL KNOW THAT VEGETABLES AND ORGANIC THINGS LAST LONGER IN THE FRIDGE. 🤣🤣🤣

When this book starts like this, it must be good! 😂😂😂

This was a very interesting book of the ris and fall of the Borgia dynasty, which started some time before Rodrigo and his infamous family. His uncle was already a pope, a fact which I was unaware of.

This is an interesting narration of the life of Caesar in form of the memoirs of Decimus Brutus, one of his closests friends - and conspirator against him. Decimus describes the rise of Caesar and then the reasons why why he decides to act against him. The outside point of view is fascinating. And no, Decimus is not the „You too, child?“ Brutus, but his cousin.

Using my fancy bookmark. 💕💕💕

I had massive problems following this audiobook because the narration talked about a lot of platitudes and the guiding principles were always ended with the appendix „The Kybalion“, which was quite annoying. But I liked the chapters about correspondance and polarity very much and found them very interesting. So, I‘m torn. ⚡️

Of course I expected something else, and of course it is somehow an intermezzo between two The city of the Dreaming Books and the to be expected The caste of Dreaming books (which I didn‘t know when I started it; sure the author is making the most of it), but in the end it is a beautiful and creative story about the inhabitants of Buchhaim and how they recovered after the fire Mythenmetz accidently started 200 years with the Schattenkönig. And it

I just love the accompanying drawings of Walter Moers. He is so talented.

I listened to the next one (No. 6) in the Amelia Peabody series and liked it very much. The change of the setting and storyline, which were the quite similar in the first four, definitely made No. 5 and this one more interesting. The notion of finding a society hidden from our modern day world reminded me very much of Balck Panther and Wakanda. 😊

And of course I bought the Schellen-Ursli book while spending my holiday at his village. This is a sweet Swiss children‘s story written in easy prose. Ursli (the diminutive for the typical Swiss mal first name Urs) wants to lead a dance with Schellen (Swiss name for bell). Unfortunately he gets the smallest bell and now tries to get a bigger one.

Of course I had to check out some literary place this holiday as well. We spent three nights in Guarda, the home of the Schellen-Ursli. The Schellen-Ursli is a famous children‘s story in Switzerland, it is as known as Heidi.

When you end your holiday with more books in your suitcase than you started with. ???
This is the little free library in Guarda (Canton Graubünden) in Switzerland. The language spoken here is Romansh.

Currently I‘m travelling in Switzerland and came across this nice reading bench in Davos with a view over Lake Davos. The rest of Davos was rather disappointing except for the hiking.

Dr Watson is missing! Can Enola find him? And she is the only one being able to read the first clue because she can understand the language of flowers. What does asparagis mean again? 😂 And she can add spidermonkey to her skills as well.

Somehow Enola stumbles into her cases which seem to attract hee brother Sherlock as well. 🤣 I like the idea that she as a woman is able to go her way in Victorian society using this „stigma“ as an advantage and getting inspiration of that fact. And as a left-handed person (who fortunately was not forced to wrote with the right) I found the whole topic of Lady Cecily‘s character very interesting.

Definitely worth a zillion rereads! I love the Walter Moers Zamonia books, they are so full of fantasy and crestive ideas. The City of Dreaming Books is a novel for us booklovers for sure. 😍😍😍

Schreib niemals einen Roman aus der Perspektive eines Türknaufs!

Started to reread the The City of the Dreaming Books again because I want to read the second part soon and habe to refresh my memory.

Even though Enola stumbles more into her first case and gets lucky solving it, it liked the beginning of the series very much. It shows the struggles of girls and women in the Victorian Age very well and already the use of the word Perditorian makes it interesting.

Even though the summary of my ebook was far off the murder mystery itself was not. This one is definitely more fast paced than the Poirot ones, it had some features of a thriller. Anthony‘s jolly behaviour made up up for the doubled secret identities and the,politics which I thought were a bit much. Overall a successful mystery thriller. 😊

Somehow there is a mistake in the summary at the beginning of my ebook. Can you spot it?

I‘m not sure what to think. Even though I liked the part with Nancy nosing around in the factory and trying to get hold onto a stolen chemical formula, I get more and more annoyed by the same structure of all the ND novels. I understand that they were written for teenagers, but wouldn‘t they realize that at some point as well. I will stick to reading the next 7 novels because I already bought the ebooks, but after that I will probably bail.

Last to time it was a recipe for super exclusive porcellain, this time it is a formula for a unique silk-making progress. what‘s next? The elixier of the Fountain of Youth or the experiment to transform lead into gold? 🧪🧪🧪

The second murder mystery solved by sheep is as good as the first one. Definitely an unconventional idea and for sure a funny one. It seems to me that the abrupt solution of the first case was used on purpose because in Big Bad Wool it just happens the same - I had to turn back a page and reread it otherwise it would have slipped my attention.

Reading with a view 😍

When the Dramatis Personae are a minority 🤣🤣🤣

After the last two novels which have been rather disappointing, this one was a new start. For the first time the mystery is not placed in Egypt, but London. It is still situated in surrounding of Egyptology and Archaelogy and plays well with the media‘s frenzy regarding everything that did have to do with Old Egypt. And of course there is Ramses…

Ramses at his best! 🤣🤣🤣

This one does have a similar plot to the first of the Amelia Peabody novels. A lot of assumed personae, one or two murders and the Master Criminal. The only satisfying point is that the MC won‘t be part of the following novels. And of course Ramses is lighting up the the wholw story with his stoic comments and creative ways to notoriously have his way around the rules and bans of his mother.

Starts well… 🤣🤣🤣

The third Amelia Peabody adventure follows the structure of first two murder mysteries which is fine for me. But I have to say that at this point Amelia becomes a bit annoying being very self-opionionated, constantly interrupting her son, even though he is very intelligent and brings important insights. Also the notion of a „master criminal“ in Egypt of that time makes me shake my head. The funny comments of Ramses make up for it for some part.

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Even though there have been a lot of characters with more than one personality/soul and a lot of new names for known characters, part three was soemhow easier to follow than part 2. I am glad I started Nona even though I didn‘t like Harrow. What I especially liked was the narration of John in form of psalms because it was the perfect transition to our modern world. It is definitely a possible dystopian future for all of us.